“The DPRK will never beg for the maintenance of friendship with China, risking its nuclear program which is as precious as its own life, no matter how valuable the friendship is,” the hard-hitting commentary said, referring to the country’s official name.

“China should no longer try to test the limits of the DPRK's patience... (and) had better ponder over the grave consequences to be entailed by its reckless act of chopping down the pillar of the DPRK-China relations.”

The bylined article is the first to be published by Pyongyang’s official media to openly criticise Beijing in the same language that it commonly uses for traditional enemies, South Korea and the US.

It comes after KCNA published two editorials which vented anger at a “neighbouring country” for “dancing to the tune of others”, warning the unnamed nation that it would suffer “catastrophic consequences”.

North Korea showcases its weapons at a military paradeCredit:
AP

Those commentaries were widely believed to be in response to China declaring in February that it would ban all coal imports from North Korea, cutting off a major source of finance for the regime.

China is North Korea’s only diplomatic ally and a key trading partner.

Ties between the two countries were cemented on the battlefield during the 1950-53 Korea War, when they were both allies.

Mao Tsetung, Communist China’s founding father, said the two nations were as close as “lips and teeth”, but relations have become strained in recent years.

Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, and Kim Jong-un, the young North Korean leader, have never met as leaders.

An editorial published on the website of China's Global Times newspaper on Thursday hit back at KCNA’s commentary, describing it as “nothing more than a hyper-aggressive piece completely filled with nationalistic passion.”

The daily tabloid, which is also known for its nationalist content, added: “Pyongyang obviously is grappling with some form of irrational logic over its nuclear program.”

Tensions have been escalating in north east Asia amid fears that North Korea is planning to carry out a nuclear test which could provoke an angry response from US president Donald Trump.

Mr Trump, who sent an aircraft carrier group into the region, has indicated that US-China relations have improved in recent weeks, as Beijing pressures North Korea over its military.